Water-wheel



(No Model.)

L. B. SWARTWOUT.

WATER WHEEL.

No. 289,169. I Patented Nov. 27, 1883.

INVENTOR J Jwaw/Amaf/ ATTORNEYS.

tion.

UNITED STATES LORENZO B. SWARTVVOUT, OF THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN.

WATER-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 289,169, dated November 2'7, 1883.

Application filed April 7, 1893.

T0 (til whom. it mu-y concern.-

Be it known that I, Lonnnzo B. Swam- WOUT, of Three Rivers, in the county of 5%. Joseph and State of Michigan, have invented anew and Improved iVater-lVheel, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip- The object of my invention is to provide certain new and useful improvements in water-wheels, whereby the same will operate more effectually and the water can be shut off from or admitted to the wheel very easily and rapidly. I v

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved water-wheel, parts being broken out and the casing being shown opened to admit water to the wheel. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan View of part of the same, showing the gates closed. V

-A water-wheel, A, which is journaled to run in the casing B in the usual manner, is provided along its periphery with a series of vertical buckets, G, which are open at the outer circular edge of the wheel. The said buckets are not cylindrical, but have an, inverted bell shape-that is to say, they increase in width at the bottom toward the inner and outer edge of the wheclas sh own in Fig. 2, whereby a larger discharge opening is formed. The lower ends of the partition-walls ofthe buckets are concaved or inclined in the reverse direction of that in which the wheel is to rotate, thereby increasing the power of the wheel. Each bucket is provided with a bevel, a, at the outer end-that is, at the end near the outer cylindrical edge of the wheel-s0 that the beveled parts of the bucket-walls will be at right angles to the fixed wings formed in the throat D in the curb of the wheel.

water rushing through the throats strikes against the ends of the buckets squarely, and thereby the power of the wheel will be greatly augmented. The curb consists of a fixed secthe fixed section E.

The 7 (No model.)

tion, E, which is attached to the casing B of the wheel, and is surrounded by a loose ringshaped section, F, of the curb, which section F can be rotated forward and backward around The movable section F of the curb is provided with a rack, G, which engages with a pinion, H, mounted 011 a vertical shaft, J, provided with a hand-wheel, K, whereby, by turning the said hand-wheel, the movable section F of the curb can be moved in one direction or the other. On the movable section F grooved guide-pulleys L are held by suitable arms, which guide-pulleys rest on curved track-plates M, secured to the fixed section E of the curb, which pulleys guide the movable section F and hold the same in position in relation to the fixed section E. Upright wings N, which are arranged at equal distances apart, are secured to the top and bottom of the outer movable section, F, of the curb, and are placed tangentially to the outer rim of the wheel. The inner ends of the said wings N extend to the rim of the wheelA,but only the outer ends of the said wings N are secured to the movable section F of the curb, so that their inner ends can move freely within the fixed section E of the curb. \Vings O, which extend from the outer rim of the wheel A to the outer rim of the movable curb-section F, are arranged tangentially to the rim of the wheel A, and are secured to the top and bottom pieces of the fixed section E of the curb, but are not attached to the top and bottom pieces of the movable ring-shaped section F, so that said section can be moved without affecting the wings 0. Wings P, of about the same length as the wings N O, are pivoted to swing inthe vertical plane 011 standards Q,'at or near the inner ends of the wings O, which standards are secured to the top and bottom pieces of the fixed section E of the curb. The wings P are provided at or near the middle with averti cal hinge, P, and the inner ends of the said wings P are hinged at Q to the inner end of wings N, fastened in the outer section, F, at or near the outer ends of the wings N. At the hinges 1?, and also at outer end, B, the wings P are preferably provided with antifriction rollers, to cause a free and easy move ment.

I have described the outer sect-ion of the curb as being movable and the inner section as being fixed; but the machine can also-be constructed with the outer section fixed and the inner section movable, and will'be equally as operative.

The operation is as follows: If the water is to be admitted to the wheel, the outer movable section, F, of the curb is moved in the direction of the arrow a by turning the handwheel K until the fixed wings O and N, rigidly attached to the fixed and movable sections E and F, respectively, of the curb, are held against the opposite surfaces of the swinging wings I, which are then held flat between the wings N O, as shown in Fig. 1, whereby the throatsin the curb will be opened and the water will be permitted to rush through the same to the wheel, the ends of the buckets of which it strikes rectangularly. If the water is to be shut off, the outer section, F, of the curb is moved -in the inverse direction of the arrow (6 by turning the hand-wheel K, whereby the wings N willbe moved toward the wings 0 until the inner ends of the wings N touch and rest against the inner ends of the wings O, as shown in Fig. 3. The middle hinges, P, of the wings 1 will be pressed against the sur faces of the wings O, and the outer part of each hinged wing P extends transversely across the wings N O and closes the same, as is also shown in Fig. 3, thereby preventing the water from passing through the throats to the buckets. As soon as the outer movable section, F, of the curb is moved in the direction of the arrow a, again the movable hinged wings P will be held fixed between the fixed wings N O, and cannot close the throats, thus permitting the water to pass to the wheel and enter the buckets of the same. I provide a very large number of buckets and increase the leverage and power of the wheel, and as the water mainly acts on the beveled part a of the buckets of the wheel the power will be applied as near the circumference of the wheel as possible, and thus the greatest leverage will be obtained. The outer curb, F, may be made stationary and the inner curb be made movable by reversing the friction-rollers L and track M from the inner to the outer curb.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination, with a water-wheel, of a curb formed of a fixed section attached to the casing of the wheel, and a movable section surrounding the fixed section-wings forming threats in the curb, and guide-rollers attached to the movable section of the curb and running on tracks attached to the fixed section, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the water-wheel A, of the fixed curb-section E, connected with the casing of the wheel, the movable curb-section F, surrounding the section E, the tangenti al wings N, secured to the outer curb-section, F, the tangential wings O, secured to the inner fixed curb-section, E, and the wings P, pivoted in the curb-sections E F and located between the wings N O, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the water-wheel A, of the fixed curb-section E, connected with the casing of the wheel, the movable curb-section F, surrounding the section E, the tangeirtial wings N, secured to the outer curb-section, F, the tangential wings O, secured to the inner fixed curb section, E, the wing P, hinged to the inner end of wings N in the curb-section F, and provided with a joint or hinge I between the ends located between the wings N and O, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with a water-wheel, of a curb formed of a fixed section and a movable section, tangential wings attached to the fixed section, tangential wings attached to the movable section, and wings pivoted to the fixed and movable sections and located between the wings attached to the fixed and movable sections of the curb, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with a waterwheel, of a curb formed of a fixed section and a movable section, tangential wings attached to the fixed section, tangential wings attached to the movable section, and jointed or hinged wings pivoted to the inner ends of the outer tangential wings of the outer section, and located between the wings attached to the fixed and movable sections of the curb, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

LORENZO B. SWARTWOUT.

W'itnesses:

W. O. PEALER, W. B. SWARTWOUT.

IOC 

